Contract negotiations over

By Gina Belmonte

After a nearly four-month struggle to ensure a living wage and extend health insurance coverage for Bon Appetit workers, the food service company and its unionized employees have ratified a five-year contract.

Approved by Bon Appetit employees on Nov. 13, the contract -- the result of three rounds of negotiations -- has yet to be signed by the employees, said Javier Quezada, a representative for Service Employees International Union.

After declining previous versions of the contract, employees were content with the amendments the third time around. The revisions included a written living wage policy and full reimbursement of co-pays for hospital costs.

The contract also retains previous amendments to the original contract, such as a 50-cent increase in wages over the next five years, as well as an annual increase in pension that amounts to an average of 64 cents.

Employees will also receive a retro-paycheck that adjusts their salary and reflects living wage rate for the time worked during the contract negotiations. Under the old contract, the city of San Jose's living wage rate was $12.66 and was increased to $12.83 in July.

According to former general manager Lori Flashner, Bon Appetit employees have always received a living wage in accordance with San Jose's living wage guidelines and were always reimbursed for co-pays from hospital visits.

Prior to the written policy, the living wage was implemented through a verbal agreement, said Flashner, who was promoted to the position of district manager and will oversee several Bon Appetit locations.

Paul Barcelos, a utility worker in Market Square, said the assurance of a living wage written statement calmed his worries. He called the contract "decent."

In past rounds of negotiations, workers were under the impression that once the money on their Wage Pay Works card, which covers co-payments, ran out, they would be responsible for additional hospital costs.

The amount on the card varied with the number of people prescribed to the health plan. For a single person seeking coverage, the amount was $200 annually. For a single person with one dependent, it was $350 and for an employee and his or her family, the amount was $400.

Mission Bakery worker Emma Gallardo said she is happy with the guaranteed hospital costs reimbursements, especially reimbursements for emergency hospital visit costs.

These costs were partially reimbursed under the old contract.

Prior to the new contract, only $35 of the total $100 cost of emergency visits was reimbursed, shop steward Flor Barrientos said.

She said she considered the contract a small success, but lamented the workers' weak solidarity.

"We could have taken on more issues if more people would have given the contract more significance," she said. According to Barrientos, 23 employees out of approximately 100 voted.

"I guess they were tired and just settled," Barrientos said.

Although ratified and accepted, the contract is not a done deal, said Quezada. The ratified contract contains a pay scale of positions and wages that is not reflective of the living wage. It lists starting wages as low as $10.57, Quezada said.

He is waiting for a response from the negotiators to determine if the pay scale included in the new contract was a mistake.

With this issue cleared up by Quezada and the negotiators, employees will be ready to sign a renewed five-year contract.

Contact Gina Belmonte at gbelmonte@scu.edu.